


Lois's Little Girl

by Candy_Kittens



Category: Malcolm in the Middle
Genre: F/M, Lois finally gets her little girl, the Wilkerson boys finally get a sister
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-28 02:54:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15039128
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Candy_Kittens/pseuds/Candy_Kittens
Summary: After five boys, Lois finally gets the little girl she's always wanted.





	Lois's Little Girl

**Author's Note:**

> So... my first Malcolm in the Middle one-shot on here. I've got a Malcolm in the Middle one-shots book up over on my Wattpad account _(user there is -hawkwing)_ , and I've decided that all my Malcolm in the Middle one-shots that I write will be posted over here too. Though, I _think_ it would be easier to post them all singularly on here, other than in a one-shots book.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this!!

"You're pregnant  _again_?!" Malcolm exclaims, having just heard the news from his mother that she's pregnant for the  _sixth_ time now. His brothers who are sitting around the table just as shocked as he is also having heard the news.

He had just returned home from Harvard for his mother's birthday, to find out that she's once again pregnant. He honestly can't say that he's too surprised by that though, but his mother and father don't exactly have a whole lot of money, and now they're adding  _another_ kid to the family?

"Mom, dad, seriously. Did you even  _think_ this all through?" He asks. "You barely have enough money for the two kids you still have at home!"

Even with the three oldest kids not living at home anymore, both Hal and Lois don't have a lot of money. They've never had a lot of money in the first place though, and if they did, they'd have a bigger house by now, and each of the boys would've gotten their own rooms  _and_  beds.

"Malcolm, just calm down." Hal starts. "We didn't plan for this to happen, it just did."

"Were  _any_ of us even planned?" Malcolm asks, knowing very well what the answer to that will be. That none of them were planned, except  _maybe_ the oldest, Francis.

Hal shifts around uncomfortably in his seat at that, while Lois looks down at the table. None of their boys were exactly planned, but that doesn't make them love them all any less.

"We are not going to answer that..." Hal states. "But even so, we love you boys  _very_  much."

Malcolm feels as though his parents not answering to that basically confirms what he already knows, that none of them were planned.

"Mom, dad. Do you  _really_ think this is a good idea financially to have yet  _another_ kid?" Francis asks. "Maybe even health wise?"

"We'll be fine. We  _always_ are." Lois says, looking between her five boys, and Piama, Francis's wife who hasn't said a word this whole discussion. "We'll find a way."

Reese, Dewey, and Jamie also haven't said much the whole discussion just like Piama, though in Jamie's defence, he is  _only_ three. Reese and Dewey aren't quite sure what to think about their mother being pregnant  _again_ _,_ while Malcolm seems to be the only one reacting badly about it. Francis on the other hand, just seems concerned.

"You'll find a way?" Malcolm asks. " _How_? Are you going to start selling drugs? I've heard that is a  _very_  good way of making money." He says. "Or will it have to involve me dropping out of Harvard cause you can't afford what little of my tuition you've been paying?"

" _How_ selfish do you have to be to think this is  _only_ going to affect  _you_ _,_  Malcolm?" Lois asks, on the verge of tears and screaming. " _You_ will be just fine. We  _all_ will." She says. "And no. We are  _not_ going to start selling drugs!"

Malcolm stops, realising how what he had said sounded. Maybe he is being selfish and only thinking about himself, but he has a right to be upset about this... doesn't he?

"Look, mom... I didn't mean it like  _that_ _._ " He starts, not too sure how to continue.  _How_   _did_  he mean it? He's not even sure. "It's just... how do you expect to be able to afford to have another kid?"

"Actually...." Hal starts, considering the option of selling drugs. "Selling drugs  _would_ bring in  _a_ _lot_  of money...."

Lois turns, glaring daggers at him. "We are  _not_ resulting to selling drugs, Hal!" She then turns to Malcolm. "Malcolm, we'll be  _fine_ _._  We've _always_ been fine."

Sighing, Malcolm gets up off his seat, and heads for the front door. "I'm going for a walk." He calls, needing to do  _something_ to cool off and think about this.

_M_ _aybe_ he'll even have a cigarette despite previously promising himself he wouldn't have one while he's here over the weekend. His parents don't know that he's recently started taking up smoking, and he doesn't exactly plan on them finding out.

He wasn't even planning on ever touching a cigarette in the first place, but he's found that they  _really_ help with all his stress, and right now is no exception....

The rest of the family sit there in silence, no one daring to say anything. This announcement wasn't quite supposed to go like this, even though both Hal and Lois expected at least  _something_  to go wrong.

"Mom, dad." Francis starts, finally breaking the uneasy silence left behind from Malcolm. "If it'll help, Piama and I can send home some money each week."

"So... you  _do_  have a job now?" Lois asks, looking towards her oldest son.

"Yeah... since five months ago. I'm sorry it took so long to tell you." He says.

"I can get a small after school job to help out." Dewey offers, speaking for the first time since the announcement. Technically he's not quite old enough for a job yet, but there may be  _something_ he can do. "I  _have_ to say though... Malcolm  _does_ have a point."

Lois sighs, covering her face with her hands. "We'll see, Dewey." She sighs.

Reese looks between everyone, being the only one to not have said anything about this along with Piama, and obviously Jamie. He's not sure how he feels about having yet  _another_ brother... well he  _assumes_ it'll be another brother anyway. Him being out of the house  _does_ help his parents financially than it would if he was still living at home though, so this news doesn't necessarily bother him too much.

"I can figure out something to help out." Reese decides. He's not sure what, but he'll figure out something. He guesses he can give his parents a bit of money each week like Francis, but he kind of wants to do more than that to help out.

"Thank you, Reese." Lois says. "Oh, god..." She sighs, covering her face with her hands. "This wasn't supposed to go like this."

She wasn't sure how she was expecting it to all go down, but this certainly wasn't it. Malcolm  _may_  have a point, but she wasn't expecting him to react like that, and walk out just like that.

"Honey." Hal sighs, rubbing a hand up and down her back, attempting to calm her down. "Everything will be fine. Malcolm will come back once he's calmed down. You know the boy doesn't often think before he speaks."

Lois sighs, shaking her head. "You're right." She sighs. "I just... I wasn't expecting him to react like  _that_."

"I don't think any of us were." Hal says. "Now... how about I go out to the store and get you some mint chocolate chip ice-cream?" He asks. "That always makes you feel better."

At the offer of mint chocolate chip ice-cream, Lois nods gratefully at her husband, who kisses her cheek.

"Great. Be back soon." Hal says, getting up. "Maybe while I'm at it I can see if I can find out where Malcolm is at." He adds, more to himself than anything, before grabbing his keys and heading out to the store.

The rest of the family eventually leave the table not long after that, besides Lois, who stays sitting at the table, unsure of what she's to do now. Something that maybe is just a little bit uncharacteristic of her.

"Lois, would you like me to make you some tea?" Piama offers, wanting to do at least something to help her mother-in-law.

Lois just nods, not bothering with some snarky reply this time, which takes Piama by surprise. Everyone knows that Lois isn't exactly fond of Piama, so Lois cooperating with her or accepting her help is always a rare occurrence.

While Piama gets on with making Lois some tea, over in the boys bedroom, Reese, Dewey, Jamie, and Francis sit in silence, not sure on what to do, and none of them daring to mention anything about what Malcolm had said and how he had reacted. Malcolm may have had a point with what he had said though, but he also may have overreacted a bit too much about the situation.

"So... now what?" Reese asks, being the first to break the awkward silence.

"I don't know...." Francis starts. "I guess... just do whatever we can to help out." He says. "Dewey, since you're now the oldest that is still living here, you'll have to help mom out more often,  _especially_  when the baby is here."

Dewey nods. "Yeah... I just hope this baby won't be as bad as Jamie." He says. "With the luck our family has though, the baby will most likely be just as bad."

Both Francis and Reese nod in agreement. With the luck their whole family has, this next kid will probably be just as bad as them all, if not worse. There  _could_ be the slight possibility that this kid will be the most well behaved, and cause no issues whatsoever, but with the Wilkerson's luck, that's just wishful thinking.

"Okay, Jamie." Dewey starts, turning to his younger brother who is sitting next to him on the bed. "You're going to be a big brother in a few months, so we have to help mom and dad out in whatever way we can."

"What can he do?" Reese asks. "He's  _only_ three, and he doesn't even understand what's going on."

"You don't know that." Dewey says, turning to Reese, before turning back to Jamie. "Do you understand me, Jamie?" He asks, to which Jamie simply nods. "Good."

Dewey isn't entirely sure if Jamie does understand exactly what he's saying or not, but the kid is smarter than he looks, for his age. He's the  _only_ one out of the five of them that came the closest to killing their mother,  _and_ he's the only one that's really been able to break her tough spirit. None of the others got anywhere near close to doing that.

"Reese  _is_ right though, Dewey. There's not a whole lot that Jamie would be able to do." Francis says.

Dewey knows that to be true. There  _really_ isn't much that Jamie can do to help out around the house at this age, but he could be a bit more well behaved so he doesn't put too much stress on their mother. She  _is_ a lot older now, and if she gets stressed out at all, then it's not such a good thing for the baby, and considering how high her stress levels can go....

Though with Reese and Malcolm out of the house, Lois's stress levels aren't so high, but they're still high from whenever Dewey and now Jamie does something to make her mad.

"I guess..." Dewey says. "There's got to be  _something_ that Jamie can do though."

He's not entirely sure what Jamie can do to help out besides not getting into trouble, but he's sure that he can think of something eventually, just...  _hopefully_ it doesn't take too long to figure something out that Jamie can do....

******

Having thought everything over, and knowing that he overreacted a little too much, Malcolm makes his way back to his parents house a couple hours later.

He had thought over everything while on his walk, stopping near the park to smoke, and had come to the realization that he overreacted about the situation a bit too much... much like he did three years ago when he found out his mother was pregnant with Jamie.

Even though he admits to having overreacted, he's not going to deny that it's not the most brilliant idea for his parents to have yet another kid. Especially not a very good idea financially, despite what they say about them being just fine and that they'll get through it all just like they usually manage to.

He'd help out in whatever way he can, but honestly? Most of the money that he makes goes towards his college fund which he's  _still_ trying to pay off. He has only been at Harvard for a few months so far after all, and all the part-time jobs he's got don't pay a lot, especially when they're only part-time.

With the money that he makes that doesn't go towards his college fund, that goes towards food and other necessities. Also a part of the money he makes goes towards a pack of cigarettes a week, which he  _is_ ashamed of, but thankfully it's not more than one pack a week... so far at least. For now he's managed to limit how many cigarettes he smokes a day, but he's not for sure how long that'll last.

As he makes his way back home, he stops off at the store to buy a few things, mostly a can of soda, and a box of chocolates for his mother, which may or may not be a good enough gift to make her forgive him for overreacting, but it's better than nothing. He contemplates buying a new pack of cigarettes, but decides against it, he doesn't want his parents to catch him with them, or for them to find out about his fake I.D. card. He can always buy another once he heads back to Harvard anyway.

Once he gets home, he falters as he gets to the door. He's had plenty of time to think over what he's going to say, but... he feels a rush of nervousness as he stands there outside the front door, trying to find the courage to knock.

He's not sure how long exactly he had been standing outside the door for, until he  _finally_ knocks on the wood. Hopefully his mother won't be the one to answer though, but with his luck, she'll more than likely be the one to answer. He hopes it's not though, as it'll give him a few more minutes until he has to apologize for how he reacted to the news of her pregnancy.

As the door opens, and he's faced with Piama, Malcolm finds a sense of relief that it wasn't his mother who had answered the door, but Francis's wife... his sister-in-law.

"Well, nice to see you finally back here." She says, letting him inside. "Your mom is in her bedroom." She adds, knowing that Malcolm will be needing to speak with his mother.

Malcolm just nods, not saying a word as he walks into the house. He stops walking as he reaches the kitchen, and just stands there, putting off going to talk with his mother for a little bit longer.

He  _should_ go in there and apologize right now, but... he just can't seem to find the courage to do so. He  _knows_ what he's going to say to her, it's just a matter of finding the courage to do so, which he honestly doubts that he will be able to anytime soon.

Sighing, he makes his way over to his mother's room slowly, knowing that he's got to get this over and done with. Without the courage to do so though? Malcolm certainly finds it difficult. Once he's got it over and done with he won't need to worry about it anymore.

Taking a deep breath, he knocks on the door to his mother's room. "Mom?" He calls. "Can I come in? I want to apologize for what I said earlier. I should never have said what I did, and... I'm sorry."

He waits by the door, leaning against it a little as he waits for a reply. He  _can_ hear slight moving in there, so he  _knows_ someone is in there, but he's not going to just walk on in there without permission. In this house you  _really_ don't want to walk into the parents room without permission when they're both in there. In fact, it's better to just steer clear of their room altogether.

Moving out of the way as he hears someone open the door, he stands back as the door opens, revealing his father standing there.

"Malcolm." Hal says, standing aside for Malcolm to come in. "Come in."

Malcolm keeps his head down as he walks into the room, not meeting his father in the eye, and certainly avoiding looking his mother in the eye... well... kind of anyway, but he does see her sitting on the bed, waiting for him to talk.

"Mom? I'm uh..." Malcolm trails off, holding out the box of chocolates for his mother. "I'm sorry for how I reacted earlier." He says, standing next to the bed. "I shouldn't have said what I did, and I'm sorry."

Lois looks up at her son, then down at the box of chocolates in his hands. She's not sure how he thought that chocolates would be good enough to make up for what he had said, but she appreciates the gesture regardless. Besides, she's not going to admit it, but she is all of a sudden craving some chocolate.

"Thank you, Malcolm." She says, taking the box from him and setting it down on the bed next to her. "Thank you for apologizing." She gets up off the bed and pulls him in for a hug. "And well... you  _may_ have had a point with what you said earlier, and I  _know_ you're just concerned for how your father and I will make this work, but  _you_ have nothing to worry about."

Malcolm hesitates for a few seconds, not expecting his mother to say any of that, before hugging her back.

_This_ _is_ _..._ _not_ _how_ _I_ _thought_ _it_ _would_ _go_ _down_ _...._ He thinks to himself, not expecting any of that.  _Did I hear her right? She's actually admitting that I may have had a point?_

"I know, mom." He says. "I just... overreacted upon hearing that you're pregnant  _again_ _._ " He sighs. "I didn't expect that I'd even get  _another_ brother at all."

Well... he's _assuming_ that it'll be another brother. At this rate it seems likely that his mother will be having yet  _another_ boy. He has to admit though, he's hoping that he'll finally be getting a sister.

"Well, your father and I certainly didn't plan on having anymore kids." Lois says, as the two of them pull out of the hug. "And maybe we'll get lucky and it'll be a girl this time."

"Mom, with our family's luck, it'll be  _another_ boy." Malcolm says.

"Malcolm is right." Hal says. "With five boys already, it's probably more likely that we'll get  _another_ boy."

"No, there's still a fifty-fifty chance that you'll get a boy or a girl. That doesn't change depending on how many boys or girls you already have." Malcolm says. "So... you're just as likely to get a girl as you are a boy."

Hal nods, moving closer to Lois. "Well, just  _maybe_ sixth time's the charm." He says, wrapping his arms around Lois from behind.

"Well, I'm gonna... go now." Malcolm says, starting to back out of the room. "Oh, and I'll try and figure out a way that I can help out with this baby."

Both Lois and Hal nod at that, but considering they're both now facing each other, and looking towards each other, Malcolm isn't entirely sure if they heard what he had said. Chances are they weren't exactly paying much attention.

Not really wanting to stay in the room for much longer, Malcolm turns around and makes his way out of the room. Maybe he can see what his brothers are doing, give him the chance to spend some time with them before he's got to head back to Harvard tomorrow night.

******

"I'm sorry,  _what_ did you say?" Lois asks, upon hearing the news on the gender of her sixth child, while Hal sat on the chair next to her, too shocked to say anything.

"It looks like you're having a healthy baby girl." The woman running the ultrasound says. "Congratulations."

"D-did you say  _girl_?" Hal asks, finding it hard to believe that this woman is saying that this child, is a  _girl_ , and not a  _boy_.

The woman nods. "Yes. I am one hundred percent sure this baby will be a girl." She smiles. "Would you like me to print off some photos for you?"

Lois nods. "Y-yeah, sure. Thank you." She says, finding it difficult to process the fact that they're  _finally_ having a girl after five boys.

As the woman goes to print off a few photos for them, Lois turns towards Hal, who looks as though he's about to burst into tears at finally getting a daughter after five sons.

"Hal." Lois starts, grabbing onto his hand. "We're having a little girl." She says, before frowning. "We don't know the first thing about raising girls."

"Oh, honey. We'll manage." Hal says, squeezing her hand gently in his. "We're  _finally_  having a daughter!" He chokes out, trying not to cry.

Lois smiles at him. "Oh, you big baby." She says, before pulling him in for a kiss.

The both of them can not believe that after five boys, they've  _finally_ got a little girl. Looks like sixth time really was the charm.

Now they've just got to figure out how they're going to break it to the boys that they're going to have a little sister. Will they wait till the baby is born in a couple more months before they tell them, or will they tell them the news straight away?

They haven't figured that part out yet. They weren't even expecting to find out that the baby is a girl to begin with, they were expecting to hear that they're having yet another boy, so this news has definitely caught the both of them off guard.

"How should we break the news to the boys?" Lois asks, once they've left the doctors and are driving back home. "Should we wait, or tell them now?"

Hal shrugs, concentrating on the road ahead of him. "Well... waiting might be a nice surprise for them." He says, looking over at Lois as they stop at a red light. "But I'm not sure if I can keep quiet about the news until then."

"I take that as a tell them straight away?" Lois asks, she also being not entirely sure if she can manage to stay quiet about this for too long.

"I guess waiting a little while won't hurt." Hal says. "Just until we figure out the right time to tell them. Just  _hopefully_  none of the boys manage to find out before we tell them...."

Lois nods, agreeing with him on that. Waiting a little while won't hurt to tell the boys. It shouldn't be  _too_ difficult not to tell them sooner than they're wanting to though, considering Francis, Reese,  _and_  Malcolm are all out of the house, with Malcolm living the furthest away from home at Harvard, so it shouldn't be too difficult not to tell him just yet.

Dewey on the other hand is still living at home, and he's a bit too attentive for his own good, so there's the chance that Dewey will somehow find out before they tell them. Jamie probably doesn't even understand what is going on, so they  _should_ be safe from him finding out. It's just Dewey that they really have to worry about.

"Ow...." Lois gasps, a little, pressing a hand down onto her six months pregnant stomach. "God, she kicks just as hard as the boys did." She says, circling a hand round the area the baby kicked.

Hal casts a glance over at her. "Reese level, or...?" He asks.

Lois shakes her head. "Definitely not Reese level." She says. "Malcolm level I think...  _maybe_  Dewey." She shifts around in the passenger's seat. "God, I  _hope_ she won't be as bad as the boys..." She sighs. "That's the  _last_ thing we need."

"Well, she  _is_ going to have five older brothers." Hal starts. "So... I think it's probably expected that some of their idiotic recklessness is going to wash of onto her...." He trails off, realizing that would be a  _very_ bad thing if that were to happen, and there's a very high chance that it will. "Let's just try not to think about that."

Lois looks over at him at that, before groaning a little, resting her head back against the seat. She's not sure what she'll do if this little girl ends up being just as bad as the boys were. It may be expected that she'll have some of the boys idiotic recklessness, but for once, she just wants  _one_  child that doesn't cause so much trouble.

Unfortunately that's just too much to ask for... especially for  _anyone_ in the Wilkerson family....

******

"Hal." Lois says, getting the attention of her husband. "It's time to tell the boys."

A few weeks have passed since they found out that their sixth child is a girl, and they've decided to now tell the boys that they'll be having a little sister. All five of the boys (and Piama) are at home for the weekend, and now may be the only chance they get to tell them the news.

They're not too sure how the boys will take to the news of having a little sister, but Lois knows that they surely won't react too badly at the news. Well... she's  _almost_  positive that they won't. She's almost sure that the boys will be happy about the fact that they're finally getting a little sister.

"Now?" Hal asks. "Are you sure we're ready to tell the boys that the baby is a girl? I mean, what if we tell them that it's a girl, and when the baby is born, it turns out to be  _another_ boy?" He frets.

Ever since they found out that they're finally having a girl, Hal has been a bit worried that maybe Lois's midwife was wrong in saying that the baby is a girl, and that when the time comes for the baby to be born, it'll be a boy, not a girl. It's gotten to the point of him worrying that if they tell the boys that they're having a girl, that the baby won't actually be a girl and that it's yet another boy.

"Oh, Hal." Lois sighs, shaking her head. "I know you're worried about if we tell the boys that the baby is a girl, that when the baby is born, it'll be a boy instead, but my midwife said that the baby is one hundred percent a  _girl_ _._ "

She doesn't feel like admitting it, but she too is a little worried about the baby actually being a boy all along instead of a girl.

"Well people make mistakes, Lois!" Hal says, before sighing. "I just don't want to jinx anything, and with our luck that's exactly what will happen. We tell the boys the baby is a girl, and then bam! It's really yet  _another_  boy!" He frets. "I'm excited to  _finally_  have a daughter, Lois. I don't want to take  _any_  chances with this."

"I  _know_ you are, honey." Lois says, moving to sit closer to him on the bed. "I am too, but we don't have  _anything_ to worry about." She tries to assure him. "Don't forget that we  _promised_ the boys we'd tell them the gender of the baby as soon as we found out, and it's already been a few weeks now since we found out."

"Well... can't we just tell them that we've decided to wait till the baby is born to find out the gender?" He asks.

"Hal... we're telling the boys  _today_ _._ " Lois states, getting up off the bed slowly. "That's the whole reason why they're all home this weekend."

Hal is quiet for a bit, before he's sighing. "Oh, alright. Fine!" He says, getting up off the bed, and following Lois out into the TV room where the boys and Piama are. "But don't say I didn't warn you."

Lois just rolls her eyes at that, as the two of them walk out into the TV room. The boys and Piama were all sat in there watching TV, not taking any notice to their parents arrival.

"Boys, Piama." Lois starts, getting their attention. "Your father and I think it's time to tell you the gender of the baby now." She says. "We found out a couple of weeks ago and it-" She starts, but before she could say anymore, Reese cuts her off.

"Mom, you don't need to tell us what the baby is, we already  _know_ that it's obviously going to be another boy." He says.

Lois and Hal look between one another, before turning back to the boys and Piama. They had a feeling that the boys would expect the baby to be a boy, but they're not so sure how the boys will react to the baby actually being a girl.

"Well... that's the thing." Lois starts. "The baby isn't a boy. It's a  _girl_ _._ " She says. "You boys are going to have a little sister."

The boys just sit there on the couch, staring at their parents dumbfounded. None of them - including Piama - were expecting for the baby to be a  _girl_ _,_ andnot a  _boy_ _._  Malcolm may have been hoping for a little sister, but he was nowhere near expecting to even get a little sister at all.

"Wait... we're actually getting a  _sister_?" Dewey asks, finding it hard to believe what his mother had just said.

"Are you serious?" Francis asks. "We're going to have a  _sister_? Please tell me you're not kidding." He won't deny it, he's always wanted a sister, especially after having  _four_ younger  _brothers_ _._

"Yes." Lois nods. "We're just as shocked and surprised as you are, but we're _finally_ having a girl."

"And it  _only_ took  _six_  pregnancies." Hal says.

Reese jumps off the couch at that. "It's about time!" He says. "I've always wanted a sister!"

Both Lois and Hal sigh in relief at the fact that the boys all seem happy - yet surprised - that they're going to have a little sister. They weren't entirely expecting a reaction like this out of the boys, but they're sure glad that  _this_ is their reaction.

The boys - minus Jamie who is sitting on Piama's lap - all run over to their parents, and pull the two of them into a big group hug. Francis, Reese, Malcolm, and Dewey had expected that they'd be getting  _another_ brother, but the fact that they're _finally_ getting a sister... that's something they always thought that they'd never get, and now that they're  _finally_ getting that, they're both excited and in shock. They didn't expect to be this happy about the gender of the baby, but after hearing the news, they're over the moon.

_Finally_ they're getting a little sister.  _Finally_ the Wilkerson's will have a little girl.

******

"Come on already." Reese says, pacing around the waiting room of the hospital. "How long does it take for a baby to be born?"

"Reese... do you even  _want_ to know?" Malcolm asks, from where he's sitting on one of the waiting chairs. "I don't think you'd want to hear about  _anything_  that goes on when a woman is in labor."

Their mother had gone into labor rather early in the morning, causing their father to rush her to the hospital in his car, while Francis and Piama drove the boys there in the van. That was five hours ago now, and  _still_ no baby.

At least this time around the baby will be born in the hospital. With the others only Francis and Reese were born in the hospital, while Malcolm was born out on the front lawn of their house. Dewey was born out in the backyard in the pouring rain, and Jamie was born at home. Now the sixth and  _hopefully_ last Wilkerson child will be born in a hospital like her two oldest brothers.

"Do you think something's gone wrong in there?" Dewey asks, growing worried about the safety of his mother and baby sister.

"They'll be fine, Dewey. Nothing bad is going to happen." Francis says from where he sat with Piama, who looks as though she could fall asleep at any second, but is doing her best not to do so.

"Yeah, they'll be fine." Malcolm says, not having the heart to tell Dewey that both women  _and_ their babies can die in childbirth. He's assuming that Dewey already knows that, but is just trying not to think about that, just as he himself is trying not to.

"We don't know that!" Reese says, pausing in his pacing around the room. "Mom is a lot older now, and we have no way of knowing that something isn't going wrong in there."

Malcolm doesn't want to admit it, but Reese has a point there. They have no way of knowing at this moment in time if anything is going wrong in there, but hopefully all this worry is for nothing, and everything is going to be okay.

"Reese, if something was going wrong in there, don't you think someone would come and inform us of that?" Malcolm asks. "Mom will be fine."

Honestly, he's not sure if he believes what he's even saying. Their mother is older now, and from what Dewey has told them all, this pregnancy has taken it's toll on her.

Even so, their mother is a strong woman, and they're almost positive that nothing is going to go wrong. All they need to do is wait this all out, and it'll be all over soon. It should hopefully not take too much longer now, and then their little sister will be born.

"Maybe one of us should go down there and see what's happening." Reese says after half an hour has passed and still no news on their mother and baby sister have reached them.

"Reese, just sit down and relax." Francis says. "Everything will be fine. If something has happened, then we'd know by now."

Reese doesn't do as Francis had suggested, and continues to pace round the waiting room.

All of them begin to grow more restless as each minute goes by and still no word. Jamie has taken to walking alongside Reese, while Dewey fidgets with an empty soda can he's holding. Francis and Piama have gone off to the hospital's café to get a coffee each, not wanting to just sit still for much longer, and Piama needing some caffeine to help her stay awake.

Malcolm on the other hand, had slipped away outside to smoke, which probably isn't a very good idea right now at this very moment, but it's helping him calm down. He'll go back inside once he's finished the cigarette anyway, and by the time he goes back in  _hopefully_ there'll be some sort of news on their mother and baby sister. With their luck though, there won't be, and their mother will  _still_  be in labor.

Leaning up against the wall of the hospital building, Malcolm closes his eyes as he breathes out a puff of smoke. He has to say, smoking doesn't exactly taste very nice, but it  _does_  manage to work in keeping his stress levels down, so there's that. Other than that though, it  _really_ does have a foul taste.

As he stands there, he thinks over everything that's happened the past few months. He's managed to spare ten dollars each week to send home to his parents to help out, despite it being such a pitiful amount. It's all he can manage to spare though, and his parents have said that it's better than nothing, and that he doesn't  _have_ to send them home anything if he can't afford it. He wants to help out though, and if ten dollars a week is all he can spare, then that'll just have to do for now.

Amongst all that's been happening these past few months, Malcolm has found that he's falling behind a bit in his classes at Harvard. He's not sure if that's because of the stress of his mother being pregnant again, from the fact that he's barely been getting any sleep cause he's busy juggling his part-time jobs  _and_ school work, or because he's just having a moment where he's just not feeling it anymore. He's hoping that it's just a momentary setback though, and that everything will be fine in no time. Though... he's taking a few days off from school  _just_ to be here right now, and he doesn't exactly want to think about everything he'll have to get caught up on right now.

He's not sure how much time has passed once he heads back inside after finishing off his cigarette, but by the time he reaches his brothers and Piama, there seems to be no changes regarding their mother and baby sister. That honestly doesn't surprise him, but he's just hoping that this will all be over soon, and that everything will be fine.

"No news?" He asks, sitting back down in the seat next to Dewey, who just shakes his head.

Sighing, he leans his head back against the wall, and closes his eyes. He doesn't even realize how tired he is until he starts to nod off to sleep.

"Has Malcolm just fallen asleep?" Reese asks, halting in his pacing to look over at Malcolm, who appears to have fallen asleep.

Dewey looks over at him, poking him a little. "Looks like it." He says, as Malcolm makes no move to slap his hand away. "I think we should just let him rest, and wake him once there's news on mom."

Reese goes back to his pacing after that, with Jamie  _still_ walking right beside him. Usually he'd tell Jamie to piss off, but right now, he just doesn't. The kid  _is_ only three anyway, and at least it's keeping him occupied. The last thing they need is for Jamie to start complaining.

Many more hours pass as they sit in the waiting room, and they're not sure how much longer they can take waiting to hear something. They're not even sure of how many hours have passed, but they know it's beginning to grow late into the afternoon, and there's  _still_  no word on their mother and baby sister.

"Okay, seriously..." Reese starts. "Surely it shouldn't take  _this_ long?" He asks. "We've been here for  _hours_ _._ " He stops momentarily in his pacing to sit down on one of the chairs, with Jamie  _still_ following along behind him.

"Maybe one of us  _should_ go down there." Dewey says, getting ready to get up and walk down he hall to see if he can find out what's happening.

"I'm sure everything's fine." Piama says, sipping on her third cup of coffee. "Women can be in labor for hours after all." She points out. "There's nothing to worry about."

Dewey sits back on the chair at that, but it doesn't exactly stop him from worrying. Piama may be right with the fact that women can be in labor for hours, but that doesn't mean that something can't go wrong at all. For all they know, something has gone wrong, and no one has been sent to inform them.

Then again, surely if something has gone wrong, someone would've came to inform them by now? Especially when they've been sitting in the waiting room for hours now.

Finally, after what feels like forever, they hear their father rushing down the hall towards them.

"Boys!" Hal shouts, running through the hall. "Boys! She's here! Boys!" He yells, causing the boys and Piama to jump up from their seats.

"Finally!" Reese exclaims, before turning to shake Malcolm awake. "Malcolm, wake up! She's here! She's here!"

Malcolm groans, waking up slowly, and looking around at everyone. "What?" He asks, getting up.

"Your mother just had the baby." Hal says, beaming with excitement and tears in his eyes. "Your baby sister is here!"

"What!" Malcolm exclaims, before they're all running off to their mother's hospital room, with Reese carrying Jamie in his arms, luckily not managing to drop him.

As soon as they get to the room, Hal gets them all to wait outside the room while he goes in to tell Lois the boys and Piama are outside waiting. He also almost walks straight into the door as he's trying to get into the room. The boys and Piama don't blame him though, he's just way too excited about the fact that he  _finally_  has a daughter.

"Lois." He starts, walking over to the side of her bed, where she's resting with their little girl in her arms. "The boys and Piama are outside waiting." He informs her. "Do you want me to let them in?"

Lois just nods, and Hal walks back over to the door to call them inside, before making his way straight back to Lois's side. The boys and Piama all pile into the room, and gather around the hospital bed.

"How you feeling, mom?" Francis asks.

"Tired and sore." Lois sighs, smiling down at her little girl. She  _finally_ has a girl after five boys.

She's  _still_ trying to process the fact that she now has a little girl. She never thought she'd get a girl, but now that she's  _finally_ got her little girl, she's as happy as she could ever be. Of course, she loves all five of her boys, but now that she's finally got the girl she's always wanted, she feels as though her family is finally complete.

"Have you decided on a name for her yet?" Malcolm asks.

Lois looks over at Hal. The both of them had found it a little difficult to decide on a name for their girl, seeing as early on into the pregnancy they were expecting to have  _another_ boy, and all the names they had discussed then were boy names, but they both had finally came to a decision on a name the night before.

"Charlie." She says. "Her name's Charlie."

They had decided on a name that could be used for either gender, as a lot of girls names just didn't seem to appeal that much to them. Charlie was one of five names that had stood out the most to them, and after discussing it together, they had decided to settle with Charlie.

The boys and Piama look between one another, before nodding, all agreeing that the name is a perfect fit for their little sister.

"Nice." Dewey says. "I like it."

From where he stood next to Dewey, Jamie attempts to climb up onto the bed to sit next to his mother and little sister, though Dewey ends up helping him onto the bed as he isn't able to get up on it himself.

Lois looks between her husband, to her boys, to Piama (who while she's _still_ not exactly on good terms with, she appreciates all the help her daughter-in-law has given her these past few months), then finally to her little girl, Charlie. She wouldn't change a single one of them. They're her family, and she loves them all very much, despite all the trouble the boys have gotten into over the years, and would never give up a single one of them.

Her family may be crazy, and her boys complete idiots, but she wouldn't change a single thing about them, and now she's  _finally_  got her perfect little girl.

Well... almost perfect, as both Lois and Hal will come to discover years later that their little girl is  _just_ as bad as her five older brothers... if not worse....


End file.
